Headgear



Sept. 10, 1963 s. E. MORGAN HEADGEAR Filed Jan. 30, 1962 INVENTOR.GERARD E. MORGAN BY 71 051 3 22, 3 M

United States Patent 3,193,014 HEADGEAR Gerard E. Morgan, Glenview,111., assignor to John T.

Riddeil, Inc, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed lan. 3t),1962, Ser. No. 169,896

6 Claims. (Cl. 2--3) This invention relates to improvements in headgear,and it is more particularly concerned with the provision of a protectivemember adapted to be associated with a headgear whereby added protectionfor the neck area is made possible.

In football and various other activities, the use of headgear to wardoff the detrimental effects of blows is quite common. Such helmetsordinarily comprise an outer shell of plastic or leather and a cradlefor the head is formed inside this shell. The cradle, which may comprisestraps, padding or combinations thereof, is spaced from the helmet shelland, therefore, direct contact between the shell and the head isavoided.

It has been found that ill-fitting helmets can be dangerous becausethere is a possibility of injury due to impact of the rim o-f thehelrnet on the back of the neck. This has become more apparent with thewide use of face guards, since this protruding member is often hitthereby throwing the helmet back and causing the rear rim to hit theneck. Since the rim comprises a thin member, a sharp blow is receivedand injury to the cervical vertebrae or other points can result.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved headgearconstruction which employs a protective member for the neck area wherebyadded safety is made possible.

lt is a further object of this invention to provide a protective memberfor the neck area which is effective to prevent injury but which, at thesame time, will not affect the fit or comfort of the associatedheadgear.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a headgearconstruction combined with a neck protector which is particularlysuitable for use as a football helmet.

These and other objects of this invention will appear hereinafter. Forpurposes of illustration, but not of limitation, specific embodiments ofthis invention are shown in the accompanying drawings in which-- FIG. 1is a fragmentary side elevation of a football helmet having theprotective member of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevation of the rear portion of a helmet viewedfrom the inside of the helmet;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary bottom View taken about the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective viewsof the rear portion of ahelmet;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken about the line 55 of FIG.2; and

FIG. 6 is an exploded side elevation of the component parts of theprotective member.

The headgear construction of this invention is characterized by aprotective member adapted to be located at the rear of the helmet. Theprotective member includes a semi-rigid sheet portion which is contouredto fit against the inner rear wall of the headgear. The sheet portionextends below the rear rim of the headgear and bends around the rimrearwardly of the helmet in a curvilinear fashion. Resilient padding issecured to the sheet portion and overlies this portion in at least thatpart which will contact the neck of the wearer if the helmet is forcedagainst the neck.

The protective member is preferably removable and in a preferred form ofthis invention, the member is designed to be employed with conventionalfootball helmets and other headgear. Specifically, the member includesarms which are adapted to cooperate with rivet points in head- 3" l 03"0 l 4 Patented Sept. 10, 1963 "ice gear constructions whereby the neckprotector can be held in place.

The drawings will serve to illustrate one example of a headgearconstruction characterized by the features of this invention. There isshown a football helmet 10 provided with a conventional face guard 12and chin strap 14. Chordal straps l6 and headbands 18 form a head cradlewhich-is spaced with respect to the helmet shell.

The protective member 20 of this invention is provided at the rear ofthe helmet. The member 20* includes a horizontal portion 22 and a pairof upstanding arms 24. The arms 24 are formed with indentations 26 andare tapered as shown at 28 whereby the protective member will fit aroundrivet posts 30.

The member 20 is made up of a semi-rigid sheet portion 32 which maybeformed of various fibrous materials, plastics, metals or wood. The sheetportion 32 is contoured to conform to the inside of the helmet, and thisportion is characterized by stiffness and resiliency. With thesecharacteristics, the contour of this portion is maintained while, at thesame time, this portion will give in response to the application ofstress. I

Covering the sheet portion 32 is a layer of resilient padding 34. Thispadding may comprise foam rubber, sponge or any suitable natural orsynthetic equivalent. The layer of pad-ding is shown covering the entireportion 32. However, it will be apparent that itis only necessary tocover that part of the portion 32 which extends below the lowermoststrap of the helmet cradle, or that part which could contact the wearersneck. A A inch thick plastic sheet covered with a A inch layer ofplastic foam represents a suitable embodimentof the protective member20.

It will be noted that the member 20 bends around the bottom rim 36 ofthe helmet, thus presenting a rounded surface. move relative to the headwhereby the member 20 moves in the direction of the arrow 36, thepresentation of a sharp, hard surface is avoided. Such movement canoccur when blows are delivered around the head and a particularlydangerous situation occurs when the face guard of an illfitting helmetis pushed upwardly, since great leverage is available and a high forcewill result. Due to the design of the member 20, the detrimental effectsof such blows are greatly reduced. The resilient padding 34 will softenthe impact of the blow due to its natural cushioning characteristics;More important, the semi-rigid character of the portion 32 cooperateswith this padding to take up effects of the blow. The portion 32 willbend as the member 20' strikes the neck and a highly effective stressdissipating arrangement is thus provided.

It has been found that the protective member 20 including the resilientportion 32 combined with the padding 34 is highly preferable to merepadding on the rim 36. In addition, the design of the member 20 isimportant in decreasing the chances of injury. Since the portion 32 iscontoured to fit inside the helmet, there is inherently a concaveconfiguration given to the member 20. Similarly, the bend in the member20 presents a rounded surface to the neck, and this over-allconfiguration approximates the curvature of the cervical vertebrae ineX- tension. Accordingly, the high forces resulting in the neck region,occasioned by a blow to the head, are distributed over a wide area,decreasing the possibility of a high stress build up.

Ihe provision of the particular means on the protective member 20' forengagement with the helmet is particularly important. The protectivemember can be associated with a helmet by spreading apart the arms 24and pushing the member upwardly around the rivet posts 30.

Accordingly, when the helmet caused to- The resilient character of themember will serve to hold it in place indefinitely. The member can beassociated with existing helmet designs by reason of thischaracteristic, and no special designs in new helmets are required inorder to adaptthe helmets for use in combination with this member. a

, It will be understood that various modifications can be made, in. theabove described headgear construction which provide the characteristicsof this invention without departing from the spirit thereof,particularly as defined in the following claims.

1 claim: 1. In a headgear construction the improvement comprising aprotective member located at the rear of said headgear, said protectivemember comprising a semi-rigid sheetportion contoured to fit against theinner wall at the rear of said headgear, said sheet portion including anedgeportion extending below the rear rim of the headgear and bendingaround said rim rearwardly of the headgear, and resilient paddingsecured to and overlying at least part of said sheet portion whereby apadded surface is presented in the interior of the "headgear behind theneck of the wearer.

' 2. A headgear construction according to claim 1 wherein saidprotective member includes means for removably securing it to saidheadgear.

3. In a headgear construction of the type having an outer shell and aninternal head cradle spaced from said shell the improvement comprising aprotective member located at the rear of said headgear, said protectivemember comprising a semi-rigid sheet portion contoured to fit againstthe inner wall at the rear of said headgear, said sheet port-ion.including an edge pontion extending below the rear rim of the headgearand bending around said r-irn rearvwardly of the headgear, and resilientpadding secured to and overylin-g at least part of said sheet portion,said padding defining an outer surface which is normally spaced from theback of the neck of the wearer when the 4 I head of the wearer iscradled within said headgear and which protects the neck of the wearerfrom contact with said rim.

4. A headgear constnuction according to claim 3 wherein said head cradleis fastened to said shell at points adjacent the rear of the headgearand wherein said protective member includes means adapted to engage saidheadgear at said points for removably holding said protective member inposition.

5. In a headgear construction of the type having an outer shell and aninternal head cradle spaced from said shell the improvement comprising aprotective member located at the rear of. said headgear, said protectivemember comprising a semi-rigid sheet portion contoured to fit againstthe inner wall at the rear of said headgear, said sheet portionincluding a lower horizontal section having an edge portion extendingbelow the rim of the headgear and bending around said rim rearwardly ofthe headgear, a pair of upstanding sections extending from saidhorizontal section formed to releasably engage said headgear, andresilient padding secured to and overlying at leastthe horizontalsection of said protective member including f said edge portion wherebya rounded and padded surface is presented in the interior of theheadgear behind the neck of the wearer.

6. A headgear construction according to claim 5 wherein said cradle isformed from a plurality of straps secured at rivet points within saidheadgear, said upstanding members being adapted to be spread apart andfitted around at least one of said rivet points thereby holding saidprotective member in position within said headgear.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,660,375 Dieterle Feb. 28, 1928 2,861,270 McCoy Nov. 25, 1958 3,041,623Glohe July 3, 1962 a

1. IN A HEADGEAR CONSTRUCTION THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING A PROTECTIVEMEMBER LOCATED AT THE REAR OF SAID HEADGEAR, SAID PROTECTIVE MEMBERCOMPRISING A SEMI-RIGID SHEET PORTION CONTOURED TO FIT AGAINST THE INNERWALL AT THE REAR OF SAID HEADGEAR, SAID SHEET PORTION INCLUDING AN EDGEPORTION EXTENDING BELOW THE REAR RIM OF THE HEADGEAR AND BENDING AROUNDSAID RIM REARWARDLY OF THE HEADGEAR, AND RESILIENT PADDING SECURED TOAND OVERLYING AT LEAST PART OF SAID SHEET PORTION WHEREBY A PADDEDSURFACE IS PRESENTED IN THE INTERIOR OF THE HEADGEAR BEHIND THE NECK OFTHE WEARER.